Addendum is a weekly column that takes a sometimes hard, sometimes casual, sometimes irreverent, yet never malicious look at some of the new or recent advertisements and comments on them. Write in with either advertisements you wish reviewed or with your comments at addendum.cat.a.lyst@gmail.com
One of my favourite ad campaigns is the one made over the years for Titan. And I’m glad Ogilvy has lost nothing of the magic it somehow conjures up for Titan. There’s this group of friends in an outdoor location organising a meal and a good-looking young man goes up to this pretty girl and says he wants to tell her something. Interrupted momentarily by a friend, they end up sitting next to each other and the young lady enquires what it was he wanted to ask. And the young man very simply asks her if she would marry him. The young lady just sticks out her palm as if asking for a ring and the man, not being nonplussed, takes off his Titan watch and fastens it on her wrist.
The sheer simplicity of the idea, the difficult roles pulled off with consummate ease by the two actors and, of course, the wonderful underlay of the Titan music make it a very touching and “feel-good” film.
Here are these two TV commercials from FCB Ulka for Tata DoCoMo and its new stretch plan.
They basically convey that some people say a lot without really having to say anything. The first one is a little gem. There’s this typical teenager, glued to his TV set, mobile in hand, multi-tasking as teenagers always seem to. And in walks dad, a trifle awkward. He seats himself and nervously begins by telling sonny that since he is sixteen, maybe they should talk about girls. It is clear to the viewer that dad is swallowing his hesitation, determined to teach the youngster about the birds and the bees. The 16-year-old turns around, and dead-pans, “OK, what do you want to know?” And the look on dad’s face is priceless. I love it. Resonates completely with the objective and the scheme. Say just a very little, achieve maximum impact. Did someone tell me DoCoMo was parting ways with this agency? Boy, they must have their reasons! Anyway, the second TVC has this guy driving a car waiting for the red signal to turn green and casually looks at the young lady to his left, also at the wheel of her car. She looks back, he senses some interest, and a small smile plays on his lips and at that time she just puts up her hand to push her hair back a bit. And the message goes home to the young man. He quietly turns away. Honestly, I got the message loud and clear, without a word being said. Which makes the TVC very focused. But I must admit I missed something. Was it the bangles or the mehendi or something else that spoke so eloquently?
Where’s the magic?
If it’s the IPL it must be time for O&M and Vodafone to roll out the adorable Zoozoos. I have always been a fan of these wonderful little things. I like the way they look, act, and I enjoy their language which seems to be a fusion of Japanese and some Maharashtrian dialect. And so I was excited about viewing the first two TVCs that debuted on April 16. One for a “ chota recharge” and the other for a special number. I’m sorry to say they left me stone-cold. Just shows me you can use fantastic characters that have been created and have made a mark with the viewer, but you need to make them convey some good idea each and every time. Otherwise you have the vehicle and nothing to carry. I’m still hopeful about subsequent TVCs due in this series.
Ramesh Narayan is a communications consultant. Send your comments to >cat.a.lyst@thehindu.co.in